TL/DR - Is Sarah Lawrence a reasonable representation of a LAC in the NYC area or is it too “different”?
I wasn’t sure whether to ask this question here or in the college search & selection sub, but my D26 is just starting to think about college. I want to show her a few schools to give her a sense of what she might want to consider when looking at and selecting a college. She has no idea whether she wants a big school, small school, or something in between. The only thing she “knows” is that she doesn’t want an exclusively STEM-focused school.
Since we’re in northern NJ, I was thinking of showing her Rutgers-NB for the big school, Fordham RH for mid-size, and Sarah Lawrence for the LAC. All 3 are easy to get to and we can hit Fordham and Sarah Lawrence in the same day and just ride the train between them.
I realize that Vassar might be the prototypical LAC in the area, but is Sarah Lawrence a reasonable representation of one if we take the full tour? Or will Sarah Lawrence’s very specific vibe be too unrepresentative of LACs in general? Since this will be among her first college visits, I don’t want to turn her off to the idea of a LAC because of what might be a very specific vision of one.
Yep, Barnard is definitely of interest as well (to me!) She originally expressed a desire to NOT be in NYC, so I wanted to at least show her something that was outside the city. Also, I thought the connection to Columbia might make it seem not like a LAC. But it’s a great idea!
Vassar is definitely not ruled out - it’s just not as convenient if we want to go without driving. So I was hoping that Sarah Lawrence might be a very easy school to get to so that it doesn’t feel like we’re making a big production of visiting for this first time out. But if we need to go to Vassar to get the better representation, then that’s probably the right move. Thanks!
How about Lafayette College in Easton, PA? I don’t know where you are in NJ, but Lafayette might be closer than Vassar. I do think that Sarah Lawrence is rather a niche school as opposed to Vassar or Lafayette.
I think you can trust your student to have some sense what features are school specific and what features are general to any small school. I would be tempted in your case to visit both Sarah Lawrence and Vassar, and some other small schools, and perhaps to point out that there will be some differences, some similarities, and that some of the similarities might not be shared by all other small schools. As an example I would expect both Sarah Lawrence and Vassar to have relatively competitive and academically strong students, and maybe some sense of elitism among a few of the students.
One daughter wanted a small school, such as what in the US would be called a liberal arts college. We toured several schools in the US and several more in Canada (we live in the northeast of the US, not all that far from Canada, and have dual citizenship). I think that she did a pretty good job of figuring out what was right for her, and she was quite happy with the small university that she ended up attending and graduating from. Some advantages of small schools such as small classes and getting to know your professors were things that she definitely benefited from.
Some small schools provide the ability to take classes at other nearby schools. I think that this is something to think about.
Sarah Lawrence is very small (the campus and the student body) and is actually in an urban neighborhood but I think to just get a sense it would be fine. Vassar might be better but is definitely a bit further (though you can take metro north to Poughkeepsie and Uber from the station). Vassar is closer than bard and probably more prototypical though I agree if she’s interested in the other two she should see bard.
I think we’ll likely visit quite a few colleges eventually. This is really just a very small kickoff to give her some ideas and let her contemplate what might be important to her. I’m sure she’ll need more than just one visit to a LAC to decide if it’s right or wrong for her, but it will likely be a few months until we do anything more, so I thought it might be instructive to just get a sense of what a LAC could be like.
Sarah Lawrence is in a busy suburb near a frequent train to NYC, Vassar felt to me like it’s in the middle of nowhere. They are both good representatives, but you should visit the one whose environment best fits your kid’s vibe. If you go to Sarah Lawrence, be sure to drive around Pondfield Rd in Bronxville - it’s adorable.
In terms of tangible differentiating aspects, Sarah Lawrence, at 79% female, has a greater gender imbalance than most coeducational LACs and, at 42 acres, is physically smaller than many LACs. This isn’t to say that the school doesn’t offer distinctive attributes in its own right. However, I wouldn’t regard it as representative of LACs in general.
While Vassar arguably is more in the middle of nowhere geographically compared to SL, Vassar seemed more integrated to the town of Poughkeepsie. Shops/cafes were a short walk away. Same for Lafayette but uphill walk!
SL’s campus is in a residential neighborhood and felt more isolated. For students that don’t have a car, the walk to the village was @ 15-20 minutes from campus. After touring, my D23 realized that she wanted a campus closer to shops/cafes and not so self contained. Visiting was helpful in that sense. It’s all a learning process:)
Sarah Lawrence, Vassar, and Bard all have a vibe that is quite different from Lafayette and Connecticut College, for example, and probably in a smaller subset of LACs. The challenge in picking a "representative " LAC is that vibe. While Rutgers will have a zillion subcultures, most LACs have a dominant culture. The kid who is loving Union will probably dislike Bard just down the road.
So no, probably not representative. Connecticut will be reachable from NYC by train which os why I mentioned it. Agree that Lafayette is more “typical”.
